Letters to the Editor: To break Trump’s charisma, focus on his followers, not him

To the editor: Columnist Jonah Goldberg refers to sociologist Max Weber’s analysis of “charisma” in his piece on the appeal of former President Trump. I am a sociologist who taught Weber to undergraduate and graduate students for more than 53 years.

Goldberg omits perhaps the most important point that Weber made about charisma and charismatic authority: The power of the charismatic leader lies in the people who attribute charisma to the leader, and not in the leader. Thus, in order to have a true charismatic leader, one needs to have a population of folks so angry and alienated that they look for a leader who they think will take them out of their despair.

Of course, the leader must demonstrate certain skills that can exploit such a population by tapping into people’s fear and anger and arguing convincingly that he is the only one who can lead them out of their misery. Sound familiar? I used Hitler as an example of a charismatic leader for years in my classes until Trump came along.

How do we combat charismatic leaders? One must focus on the people to whom the leader appeals. Once the people stop believing in the leader, the leader’s power and charisma disappear.

What the Democrats need today is someone with charismatic skills who can speak to the fears of the “Trumpian population.”

Glenn A. Goodwin, Claremont

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To the editor: What charisma?

We can blame Hollywood, the right-wing news media and the Republican Party for the making of Donald Trump. The many false narratives led to Trump being viewed by the public as a successful, self-made billionaire.

The truth, as revealed by investigative journalists before and after he decided to run for president, was something else. There was no self-made business magnate behind the manicured blond hair and suits with red ties.

If not for his father’s wealth and later the banks that lost millions of dollars loaning money and bailing him out of bad business decisions, Trump would not be around today. His business venture into casino resorts led to an accumulated debt of $3 billion, which caused several of his companies to file for bankruptcy.

Thus far, we learned that without a cadre of lawyers and individuals willing to advise him and carry out his unlawful schemes to remain in power, he would not have been able to unleash his amoral inner character.

Larry Naritomi, Monterey Park